Degradation of pharmaceutical compounds by ligninolytic fungi

Pharmaceutical compounds are used worldwide for therapeutic purposes in human and animal health. Particularly for pharmaceutical compounds, there are a number of therapeutic groups applied for the treatment of several diseases or illnesses: antibiotics, analgesics, anti-inflammatories, contraceptives, antidepressants, antineoplastics agents, antiepileptics, anticonvulsants, beta-blocker compounds, lipid regulators, X-ray contrast media, tranquilizers, among others. It is estimated that the worldwide consumption of pharmaceuticals exceed 1000 tons per year. The consumption of each therapeutic group may vary depending on whether the sale is restricted to a medical prescription, such is antidepressants, or can be purchased freely in the counter as the case of anti-inflammatory drugs. After their consumption and/or use, these compounds are released into the environment via urine and faeces either in its original form as well as metabolites and degradation products. Then, these compounds can be transported through the municipal drainage system and distributed in surface water and groundwater in variable concentrations ranging from ng/L to µg/L. Their presence in the aquatic environment is mainly due to the fact that conventional treatments in the sewage treatment plants (STPs) do not remove these compounds efficiently. Therefore, municipal wastewater is considered as the most relevant emission source of pharmaceutical compounds. By contrast, these compounds can be detected in drinking water, although there are evidences of the presence of some of these compounds in very low concentrations, in the order of ng/L